Silo-trap-door construction



' H. wADswoIITH.

SILO TRAP DOOR ICONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED Nov. 26. 1 920.

,377,036.. l Patented May-3,1921. y

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nnRBERTwAns-wonfrrr, or AvoiLNEW- YORK.

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To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HERBERT WADswoRTH, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Avon, in the county of Livingston and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful improvements inSilo-Trap-Door Construction, ofv which the following is a specification.

My invention lhas reference to improvements in silos and has vfor itsprincipal object to provide a silo constructed in a manner as willinsure preservation of ensilage stored therein and allow the removal ofsaid ensilage as needed from the bottom portion of the structure withoutdiliculty and the necessity of taking the ensilage from the upperportion of the silo.

Other and further objects will be in part obvious and in part pointedout hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved silo g Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view partly broken away through the base of the silo;

Fig. 3 is a section on Vthe line 3 8 of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a detail view partly broken away of one of the dumps.

Referring more particularly to the drawings wherein one embodiment of myinvention is illustrated the numeral 5 denotes the silo body which inthe present instance is of tubular sheet metal construction, comprisingvertically disposed sections 6 and 7 suitably connected together as at30. In order to compensate for expansion and contraction of the ensilagein the silo dueto variations in atmospherical temperature, the sections7 are not secured together, but the opening or slit 31 thus formed isclosed by the overlapping beveled edges 8 and 9 of the adjacent sections7. These edges 8 and 9 are resiliently maintained in over lappedposition by a series of spring clamps 10, comprising hooked-shapedmembers 11 and 12 connected by means of coil springs 13, the members 11and 12 being adapted to hook over ribs or lugs 14 and 15 formed on theouter surface of the silo, The tend- Speciflcation of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application `filed. November 26, 1920.- Serial No. 426,577.

ency of the coil springs is to resist expansion of the ensilage and silobody and consequently the overlapping edges of the latter will beconstantly drawn together to effect a tight joint.

It is well known that ensilage has a tend ency to pack into a solidmass, particularly at the base of the column and that in consequencediiiculty is often experienced in removing the ensilage from thecontainer or silo. According to my construction this condition isobviated or at least relieved in the following manner. The base of thesilo is provided with a floor 24 mounted upon which is a cone-shapedmember 25, the apex 16 of which is coincident with the longitudinalVaxis of the silo. This cone penetrates into and spreads ordisintegrates the descending mass of ensilage, directing the sameoutwardly through the doors 17, when the latter are opened for thispurpose. Even with the construction just described it has been foundthat the mass of ensilage will Jfrequently be firmly supported on theflooring by the circular rim of ensilage surrounding the base of thecone 15 and can only be dislodged with considerable difli-V culty. Itherefore provide the ioor 14 with a series of circumferentiallyarranged trap doors 20, hinged as at 21 to the'floor 14 and.

extending about the base of the cone. The i'reeor outer ends of thesedoors 20y are normally supported in closed or Fig. 2 position by propsor trigger blocks 19.

1 lVhen the props 19 are removed by knocki ingl them vdown as'by meansof a Sledge or thelike and the doors 17 are opened the ensilage can bereadily caused to move downwardly and outwardly over the face of thecone 15, by removing` the rim portion of the ensilage previouslymentioned with a pick or other implement. Due to the provision of theclamps 10, it willV be understood that the binding action'oi theensilage by reason of the lexpansion o1 the same can be avoided bymerely removing certain of the clamps. Furthermore the expansibility ofthe silo due toits construction and the extensibility of the clampsto agreat extent overcome this tendency on the part of the ensilage to bind,but the main feature of my invention resides in the provision of trapdoors about the base or rim of the mass of ensilage, as previously setforth. l

Having thus described my invention: What I claim is: A silo comprising aContainer having a bottom Wall and sidewalls, doors in said side Wallssurrounding Said bottom Wall,

a cone-shaped member on said bottom With its apex extending upwardlyinto the nterior of said container, and doors in seid 10 bottom WallVdisposed about'the base of said cone-shaped member.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature.

HERBERT WADSWORTH.

